Chet Baker, Jazz Trumpeter Known For 'Cool School' Style

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS — American jazz trumpeter CHET BAKER, 59, known for his 1950s appearances with Gerry Mulligan, died Friday after falling from the second floor of his hotel.

No reason for Baker's fall was disclosed. He had been scheduled to make several appearances as part of a tour of the Netherlands.

Famous for the thin, cool tone of his trumpet playing, Baker set the standard for what jazz buffs knew as the ''cool school.'' In 1952 he was working with Charlie Parker on the West Coast when he joined Mulligan, a baritone saxophonist, and the rest of his pianoless quartet.

In 1953, Baker topped the Metronome trumpet poll and started his own quartet. Then his career started to suffer, from narcotics, arrests and critics saying he had been overrated.

In recent years, Baker said he had stopped taking drugs and started making records again, appearing on an Elvis Costello album.